RAANetwork is excited about the launch of a new website called The Front Porch. The site was launched by Thabiti Anyabwile, Louis Love, and Tony Carter, three pioneers and spiritual giants. We stand on these brother’s shoulders. Below is an excerpt from the site about what we should expect from The Front Porch:

Not everyone has a front porch.  I bet almost everyone has places where friends, family, and even foes gather for conversation and debate.  Such places serve a similar unifying and comforting purpose. We hope you experience those same kinds of conversations here. And that’s what we want to accomplish. Welcome!

The Front Porch aims to be a place for conversations on biblical faithfulness in African-American churches and beyond.

Faith

Driving the conversation is what matters most to us, namely, our Triune God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the necessity of faith in him. We hope to discuss the essentials of the Christian faith, reformed theology, and how these intersect with the African-American Christian experience.  We pray these conversations build faith and lead to faithfulness (Rom. 10:17; 12:1-2).

Family

The Front Porch’s conversations focus on the family of God, the church. The church local and universal, militant and triumphant, is beloved by our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:25). Therefore, it must be loved by those who love him.  We love the church in all its multifaceted, multi-colored, and multi-ethnic expressions that God has ordained.  In fact, it’s because we love her that we will sometimes extol her virtues and sometimes admonish her shortcomings.  All we say about her we say in love as those within her doors, as part of the family, praying the church will be all that Christ calls her to be.

Fellowship

God’s people are keen on fellowship. The Front Porch allows you to just sit down, listen, and enjoy the conversation without adding anything. Yet your presence is welcomed. Please add your two cents to any discussion. But prepare to also be challenged.  Many issues are taken up and settled on neighborhood front porches. And even those that are not should not destroy the fellowship of brothers and sisters.

Food

The Front Porch is a great place to exchange old and new recipes. How does the faith of the saints who have gone before us help us understand and persevere in the faith we profess today (Heb. 12:1)?  Are there recipes of faithfulness we can glean from past generations that we can mix with our contemporary, contextualized understandings? Can we come away with a fresh yet faithful recipe for Christian living that our parents and God would be proud of?  We believe we can.

So, if you’re ever in the neighborhood, c’mon up! As my family’s old preacher would say, “It may be crowded, but there is always room for one more.”

Be sure to go and hang on the porch some time. You will likely catch us there.